Dear Khem,

Thank you, this is indeed exciting correspondence, as you also are
reconnecting me with my roots! The majority of my blood is French, traced
back to a 1510 Catholic Lefèvre living in a province adjacent JLd'E's known
family. My direct line is traced to a now Huguenot Lefèvre, orphaned in the
religious wars (this is an interesting story I hope someday to have the
luxury of getting published), fleeing to New York where other Lefèvre
relatives had settled in what is now New Paltz. He and his adopted family
then settled in Pennsylvania; so I also need to eventually find time and
money to get over Lancaster, PA, where the family Bible he brought with him
to America is housed.

----- Original Message -----
From: Khem Caigan <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 7:40 PM
Subject: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Intellectus Agens [ was: Re:
[ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] More OTO ritual ]


Kathryn LaFevers Evans doth schreibble:
>
> My thesis of 178 pages shows that Jacques
> Lefèvre d' Étaples didn't leave behind his
> earlier teachings, as accepted History would
> have it.
>
> He didn't decry Magic, he embraced it.

Apart from his taking exception to the
*Asclepius*, I would say that the greater
part of his editorial commentaries on Ficino
made that rather clear.

One would think so. But the major scholars over here who've published on
Lefèvre didn't make the intellectual distinction that his later oaths
against Magic (i.e., Chaldeans etc.) were simply to convince the political
arm of the Church that he had turned away from it, presumably as a folly of
youth. My thesis of course includes French scholars: Renaudet who is almost
always still cited as an authority also snubbed L's early fascination;
scholars convened at a much more recent colloquium in Étaples on L concluded
that he was not a Nicodémite, which I address.

This positive regard for magic doesn't appear
to have carried over to his pupil, Bovillus,
though.

Precisely the point: Charles de Bovelles actually did carry on L's most
cherished work on Magic -- that involving numbers and geometric forms in
mathematics. My thesis arguments are centered on Book II, which is number
mysticism, as the key to the rest of L's teachings. This was L's treasure,
one that he taught as passing beyond the barriers of religions, to the
heart, as spirit. Book II is the story of Lover and Beloved. The Christian
Neoplatonic model of Cusa and others was yet another garment that Lefèvre's
distillation of "Pythagorean philosophy" in Book II could put on. "Naked
Theology", as I term it (though not of course in the "Academically correct"
thesis), was Lefèvre's passion.

He and de Bovelles actually tried out a methodology of teaching on their
students at the Sorbonne, one structured out of numerical ascension. But
that in-depth or subtle project failed. This citation, and many other
important ones, I had no room to add in the thesis, but will dig up the
reference here eventually if it becomes important to you. What is more
well-known, and included in the thesis, is that L already employed a
hierarchical methodology in his teaching anyway, which as I mentioned
culminates with Intellect.

Thank you very much for the catalog information.

I was hoping that it would be possible to obtain
your thesis by way of UMI/ProQuest, but it is
really great to have the option of interlibrary
loan between universities. Hopefully, Emily's being
on the faculty at SUNY New Paltz will help expedite
matters. Failing that, I'll just mosey on down to
Columbia for a visit, where my cousin Jonathan is
on the faculty.

Either way, I intend to read this treasure of yours.

So glad that you have a contact at Columbia to support the generous
librarian's having secured permission for me to study the manuscript. She
has been an exceptionally professional colleague, having followed my lengthy
efforts to access it through the Czech Republic. I deeply appreciate any
support you can lend. Yes, please have Jonathan take a look at the Table of
Contents at least there in person. My thesis, as a beginning into this
important treatise, is a broad sweep that covers quite a bit of history
which scholars already know, but which the reading public that includes
Literature students at CSUSM would need as context. Even a seasoned Medieval
History scholar was unaware that there was a wide circle of humanists
propounding Christian Kabbalah. My MA from CSUSM by the way is in Literature
& Writing Studies, which is why I argue for study of such treatises as
Mythology rather than Religious Studies (not yet part of CSUSM's
curriculum). I would be happy to discuss via personal email the
appropriateness of providing you with a thesis copy so you wouldn't need to
travel, seeing as how you may be looking into grants for me:) I offered one
to EXESESO with no reply.

> Apparently the EPHE has kept their work on it quiet
> for several years, but I still hope to see a complete
> published French Edition sometime in the near future.

I recall a forthcoming edition being mentioned as far
back as Walker's *Spiritual and Demonic Magic*, and
we're still waiting.

Yes, you are remembering a review of that book written by Paul O.
Kristeller, one of the Columbia scholars whose work I follow. I cite
Walker's book and K's review in my thesis. Kristeller reported in his review
that Professor Penham, also of Columbia, was preparing a forthcoming English
edition of the De Magia (from the microfilm copy of it K had obtained with
permission from Olomouc while scouring European libraries). I traced that
lead to Penham's son, and spoke with him on the phone during the time of
Penham the elder's wife passing. Penham the younger was sure his father
never started the project, but went through his father's records for me to
substantiate that conclusion. Penham had passed away before beginning work
on L's De Magia. So, while some may consider me a neophyte, I have done my
scholarly homework.

Anyone remember Pingree's promise of an Englished
*Picatrix*?

I'm still pondering the matter of grants, but you
may want to consider approaching Routledge and
Taylor & Francis as publishers.

Just a hunch - they are responsible for publishing
Keller's *Face of the Deep* as both treeware and
software, respectively:

http://tinyurl.com/y4ob6q

http://tinyurl.com/ymllzl

And if you haven't already, you might want to join
the discussion over on Adam McLean's Alchemy Academy
list, seeing as how you are dealing with Natural Magic:

Thank you for the recommendation to join his listserv; my email to Adam
directly got no response, but to be fair I was waxing poetic which sometimes
turns scholars away.

http://tinyurl.com/yzdmoq

Cors in Manu Domine,


~ Khem Caigan
<[log in to unmask]>

" Unity therefore being the Beginning, containeth every
number, but itself is contained of none, and begetteth
every number, itself being begotten of no other number. "

Precisely the subject of "Pythagorean philosophy" according to L on the
first page of Book II, and expressed by him so poetically. Hope you all get
a chance to read Book II in English, or at least my or EPHE's Latin
transcription, soon!

Kathryn



~ The Crater

Make a distinction.

~ George Spencer Brown